dianaschnuth

Am I a total goober or what? I never used to cry at anything—in fact, I often took great pride in being the only stony-faced person in the midst of a sobbing and sniffling movie theater. And now look at me: all weepy at the sound of the Totoro theme.

BEAR NO DRIVE CAR! THAT NO MAKE SENSE! *ahem*

And now, for the Totoro-deprived: some stills from the movie…

Satsuki (emphasis on the first syllable, please) and her little sister Mei wait with Totoro at the bus stop. Satsuki lent Totoro her father’s umbrella a short while later, so poor O Totoro wouldn’t be standing in the rain.

Oh, look. It’s Totoro’s bus! It’s the nekobasu, or catbus. Legend has it that, as cats get older, they become shapeshifters. This particular cat became intrigued by a bus it saw, and decided to become a catbus. There’s some Totoro art out there showing a catbus full of Totoros.

Totoro gave the girls some acorns and other various nuts and seeds as a thank-you for the umbrella. They, of course, planted them in their garden, where trees always go. Now the Totoros have come to Satsuki and Mei’s house to help them grow the seeds into a giant tree.

After growing the tree in the garden, Totoro gives Satsuki and Mei (and his little totoros) a ride to the top of the tree. How? On his spinning top! Totoro rules!

Totoro has hailed the catbus for Satsuki, and now he waves goodbye to them as they take off from the top of Totoro’s camphor tree.

Of course, I can’t give the *whole* story away… but be watching for a special edition Tonari No Totoro DVD set to come out sometime within the next year or so. For now, you can buy the fullscreen English dub. (Ugh. Can’t wait for the double-DVD set!)

So, the big question: why does Tonari No Totoro make me cry? I’m not sure. I think it’s that whole childhood-lost sort of vibe—the scenes that would have made me OOH and AHH as a little kid now make me remember what it was like to be a little kid. I know, I know, it sounds totally retarded. That’s the closest I can come, though. I wish I could turn off the waterworks, believe me. I feel really stupid about it… although it doesn’t really matter when I’m home alone, watching Totoro. ^_^